Staying inside is best way to beat the heat

Published 7:00 pm, Saturday, June 28, 2008

Summertime heat in West Texas is brutal.

Everyday it preheats the inside of my car, so that I bake for a good 10 minutes as I wait for my air conditioning to kick in and save me from my misery.

My parents used to say that you could fry an egg on the sidewalk. I'm almost convinced you could also slap some pancake batter on the asphalt, along with a few strips of bacon, and the sun would cook your breakfast right there on Loop 250.

It sure seems plausible, because when I step outside I feel like I've stepped inside a toaster oven with the setting set on burn.

So I do what any other sane person would do - I step back inside.

Nothing extinguishes the invisible flames of West Texas heat like retreating into an air-conditioned building.

Not going outside has become my solution for dealing with the outrageous temperatures. After all, it's so hot out there, and I could get physically uncomfortable or even worse, I could get sweaty. And that's just gross.

But I wonder, when in my old age, did I turn into such a summer-fearing pansy?

Back in the good old days, when I was a child, the summer heat never tormented me like it does today. I relished those hot days under the sun. I looked forward to them.

I would ride my bike, play at the park, run through the sprinklers, and try to burn ants with a magnifying glass - all the normal things that children did.

I didn't shrink back from the rays that blackened my skin and made me sweat buckets.

However, today, when the temperatures topple into the 90s and 100s, not even the promise of a well-cooked breakfast on the asphalt could get me outdoors. I'd much rather crank up the air conditioner, crawl into bed and watch TV.

I've let the heat suck me dry of that childlike love for summer. There's no more joy left for me in the sun's summer rays, only a sunburn, and that makes me sad.

I know many people who feel the exact same way. And unless you are still under the age of 13, you are probably of them.

So perhaps we should leave our jaded attitudes at the door, and just go outside.

I'm not suggesting we all gather together with our magnifying glasses and have an ant-roasting extravaganza, or am I?

I don't think it would really be so bad to have a little child-like fun in the sun this summer. A nice bike ride or trip to the park could do us some good. Perhaps the sun will cook out all that lameness we've acquired over the years, and we can loosen up this summer.

After all, a quick romp through the sprinklers would feel really good on a hot afternoon.